Larry had not believed what Avery had told him. At first he thought it was just another hazing ritual that the trio had come up with. But she seemed genuine with her concern and if there's one thing he learned from this job it was to expect the unexpected. They had to be cautious and not let slip that they knew of the trio's plan. As a result, Avery spent even more time in Ahk's exhibit. She became hyper vigilant and was on edge because any day now, the old guards would come to steal the tablet. She hoped to get a recording of them on her phone as proof. Ahk noticed that when they talked that she was distracted. He couldn't blame her. Waiting around for something to happen could drive a person mad, he would know.
Her efforts paid off one night as the guards tapped their spears against the floor. She took a few calming breaths and hid behind the column, camera at the ready. But instead of all three like she had thought, it was only Gus and Reginald. It seemed like Cecil had bid them to do the honors of stealing the tablet. She held her breath as they took the tablet from its resting place. They both stopped to marvel at its golden aura. Right as they were walking out she emerged from her hiding place.
"I'd put that back if I were you. I got you on camera!" She triumphantly held her phone up.
"Well if it isn't the little miss intern. Looks like you ignored our number one rule."
"Rules like that are meant to be broken especially if you are holding a person hostage!" She came to stand in front of Ahk's sarcophagus.
"Ah, so you two have gotten to know each other. Getting to know the enemy is another strike against you. Cecil won't approve."
"He is not the enemy-"
"He is to us!"
"Gus, please. Listen Avery, I like you. You're a smart kid, do the right thing and walk away from this." Reginald tapped his cane as a silent threat.
"Avery, no!" Ahk yelled and started pounding on the lid. He didn't want her getting hurt at his expense.
She hesitated, nervously eyeing it and the exit they were standing between. She knew she was not in a position to deny it. So she hung her head low and started walking out the entrance. They followed behind her, tablet in hand, to make sure she actually left. But that was not in her plan.
Just as they exited, Avery turned around and attempted to wrestle the tablet out of Gus's hands. But for a frail old man, he was stronger than he looked.
"Oh, she's a lively one!" The tablet was grabbed by Reginald and held in the air. She uselessly tried to get it from him but he was much taller than she was. Suddenly she felt rough hands grab her from behind.
"Hey!" She struggled to fight back or even kick but she was unable to. Reginald grabbed her phone and looked through the camera roll. He held it up to her as he deleted the only evidence she had.
"No…" She deflated. All that work for nothing.
"There now we won't have a problem. But just to be safe…" He threw her phone on the ground and smashed it with his cane. He kicked it away to further make a point. Before she knew it she was thrown in Ahk's exhibit and the metal gates were closed and locked behind her.
"Now sit in there and think about what you're doing! Maybe we'll let you out later. C'mon Gus, we've got to find Cecil."
"Yeah, maybe on the way we can get some more jewelry to pawn off!" The two walked away with not a care in the world. Avery stood at the gate and started pulling on it out of frustration. Her plan had backfired. She felt tears starting to form in her eyes but quickly blinked them away. She heard a name calling her and she snapped out of her daze.
"Avery, are you alright?" Ahk's voice was gentle and it was enough to cause her dam to break as tears flowed freely down her face.
"No, I'm not alright. I just lost the only evidence we had to pin it on them. I'm trapped in here with no way out!" She allowed her sobs to take over.
"You know, in the time I've known you, I haven't pictured you as a quitter."
"Excuse me?" Had she heard that right? Was he trying to criticize her at this moment? She was about to go off on him when he continued.
"You never give up, Avery. Not on your hardest assignment or on your roommate situation. You always find a solution." He was genuine in his tone and it seemed to calm her.
"Oh…" Her crying slowly subsided as she took a few breaths. There was an awkward silence as she sat down and tried to figure out what to do or say next. She looked out towards the gated exit and back towards Ahk. She knew she would need help to get out of there and the only other person in the room was Ahk. She nodded to herself and stood up. She approached the heavy stone slab and started pushing with all her might.
"Avery? What are you doing?" He could hear her grunting.
"I'm getting you outta there. Where are you superhuman strength when I need you?" She doubled down her efforts to push off the slab. Meanwhile Ahk stared incredulously at the lid of his sarcophagus. She was going to free him?
She focused all her anger and frustration into pushing the heavy slab. Slowly but surely it gave way until it finally gave way and fell to the floor with a loud crash. She winced at the impact. She couldn't think much about the poor floors as her next task was more important. She unlatched the pins from the box and carefully pulled the lid of the sarcophagus aside. Ahk was momentarily stunned as light began streaming in from above. He slowly sat up and began to unwrap himself. Avery patiently waited. She did not know what would await her once he was unwrapped so she mentally prepared for a decaying face like in the movies.
"Oh!" She exclaimed as she came face to face with a rather dashing young man. Definitely not what she was picturing but was a pleasant surprise. Until he opened his mouth and coughed out what she assumed was dust right near her face. She blinked a few times to clear her eyes.
"My apologies but you would not believe how stuffy it is in there." He cracked a lopsided grin that somehow made her feel at ease.
"I'll bet," she laughed at the absurdity of it being the first thing he said since he was freed. She suddenly became aware that she had been staring at him for a long time, especially as he stood up and began to unwrap his body. She hastily cleared her throat and looked away.
"Right well, I'm glad you're free but it seems we're now trapped in the entire exhibit itself. And as much as I would like to think I do have superhuman strength, I don't think I can open the gate."
"I think I may have a solution to our problem."
Seconds later the gate was ripped open by his guards and they were on their way out. Ahk stumbled a bit when he began to walk as his body was adjusting to being upright for the first time in 54 years. Avery was there to steady him by putting her hand around his waist.
As they walked, a loud commotion was heard down in the lobby. It did not sound good. She could hear screaming and the clashing of weapons. Coming over the balcony she could see that the museum was in chaos. Everyone was fighting with each other. Though that was the least of her concern as she needed to find Larry. They ran down the halls until they came to the security office and loading dock area.
They found Larry tied up in the security office. He was drifting in and out of consciousness with a large welt on the back of his head. She quickly got to work untying him and sitting him against a wall.
"Alright Larry, follow my finger." She tracked his eye movement and noticed his staggering vision and dilated pupils. "I'm no doctor but I think you have a concussion."
"They ambushed me, Nicky." Nicky, is that his son?
"I can't exactly leave you alone with no one to watch after you so you'll have to come with us."
"Us?" Larry looked around the room and saw there was another man there, with a crown no less!
"Larry, meet Ahkmenrah, owner of the tablet which has now been stolen by the old guards."
"Pleasure to meet you Larry."
"Yeah, you too?" He said confused. New information seemed to be coming in from everywhere.
"Alright, enough pleasantries, we gotta get going. C'mon up ya go. That's it…" She and Ahk hoisted him up off the floor and each were on his side to support him. Unfortunately luck was not on their side as when they emerged, Attila and his huns spotted Larry and made a mad dash for them. Larry tried to run to meet up with them but stumbled and nearly fell over. Soon they came face to face with an angry Hun. There was a lot of screaming which made Larry wince from the noise.
Ahk stepped forward and offered his service as a translator. Woah, he knows more than one language? Impressive! Avery thought.
"He said he wants to rip you apart."
"Larry, what did you do to them?"
"Nothing, it was just one bad magic trick!"
"Alright, I'll handle this then. Attila, Larry meant no harm in the trick. He was just trying to connect with you in a way that doesn't involve screaming or ripping people apart. He learned magic tricks to impress you. But one bad magic trick doesn't make him a bad person! And he's sorry he ruined that magic for you, aren't you Larry?" She pointedly asked him.
"Oh, yeah. I'm very sorry man."
Ahk translated and Attila came to an understanding and also apologized.
"Good, now hug it out so we can be on our way." The men awkwardly hugged each other and all was well with that group of exhibits.
The rest of the museum was another story. After attempts to get everyone's attention, the Easter Island head ordered everyone to stop fighting and listen to his 'dum dums.' As Larry was now starting to feel queasy, Avery stepped up and gave a rallying speech on how the tablet was responsible for bringing them to life. She mentioned that they shouldn't be fighting because it was pointless. They weren't the enemies, the old night guards were. If they wanted to remain alive, then they needed to band together and catch them. Public speaking was not her greatest strength but her speech struck a chord within the inhabitants. They were sectioned off into groups and were sent to find the three guards. Avery knew that if they stood a chance against them, they would need an efficient tracker. She remembered Larry and Rebecca talking about Sacagawea and her abilities to navigate. Off they went to that wing.
Looking for something heavy to throw, Avery settled on a rock and hurled it at the glass window. Desperate times call for desperate measures. In no time at all, Sac had taken them to Cecil's last whereabouts. He ran for a good while, knocking into exhibits and throwing objects in their path. But this just made them even more determined to get him. He was cornered near the entrance to the museum.
"It's over, Cecil. You're outnumbered! Give us the tablet and you can walk away from this!" She spoke with confidence. She did not want to get the police involved because how could she explain this without exposing the tablet's secrets even more? Here she was giving Cecil the chance to walk away with no consequences besides never to be seen at the museum again.
"Sorry dear, no can do!" He was so close, he couldn't back out now.
Out of nowhere, Rexy came in and swung his tail hitting Cecil square in the chest, sending the tablet flying in the air. Avery and Ahk both reached for it at the same time. They bumped into each other but still managed to catch the tablet before it hit the ground. He gave her a lopsided grin as she laughed out of relief. The tablet was safe, the museum was safe, the exhibits were safe. Order was restored.
"If it's all the same to you," Cecil started as he looked up from his place on the ground, "I'll walk away now."
AN: so in this au, the animals would never have gotten out, I thought about it but decided against it. I also kinda wanted to have the ending be sorta like that one scene in the end of Marvel's The Avengers; where Cecil would technically take Loki's place. Sorry it was a little anticlimactic, I kinda ran out of ideas bc I didn't want it to strictly follow along with the movie plot. Also I did wonder what happened to the 3 guards after the movie as I don't think the cops would have been involved.